“If you have a generator and you can chain (and lock) it to something, I would suggest do it, because people are going around stealing them.” That’s the blunt advice from Flemington Police Chief George Becker.

Speaking at a special Borough Council meeting Saturday morning devoted to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, he also warned residents to keep cans of gas in a safe place.

“Gas is like gold, it will disappear. Just try to secure it in a safe place,” he said. That means, experts say, in a garage or tool shed, out of the reach of children and away from direct sunlight, heaters, furnaces and electrical points where an accidental spark could ignite the container. In this emergency, police are too busy to investigate gas thefts, he said.

David Giuliani, deputy Office of Emergency Management Coordinator for the borough, added a generator safety warning: “keep it outside the home, in a well-ventilated area.” According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a generator should be outside and at least 25 feet from doors, windows and vents.

All around the state, including in Hunterdon, people have died this week, apparently from carbon monoxide fumes from gas-powered generators. Thousands of people are using generators at their homes after the widespread power outages which resulted form the winds of the storm Monday and Tuesday.

Giuliani also urged people to be cautious about carbon monoxide from wood stoves and other devices. “Make sure to have a working, battery-operated carbon monoxide detector,” he urged.

At the meeting, at the old County Courthouse on Main Street, Giuliani also provided an update on power restoration efforts. He said the continuing lack of electric in the Mine Street-Bonnell Street-Village Court area is being addressed, with the equipment already on the scene to begin making the repairs.

Updates on this and other emergency information is being updated on the borough website, historicflemington.com

Becker reported that “Monday will be Halloween in Flemington,” in accord with Gov. Christie’s edict. But Councilman John Gorman noted that there won’t be a parade this year, only trick-or-treating, with the designated hours set at 5-9 p.m. However in response to residents’ requests that it start earlier, officials said they will look into the possibility.

But it seems unlikely any action will be taken against kids go out before 5. Noting that there are still electric lines down in town, “we will do what we need to do protect the children from those wires,” Becker vowed.

“Keep your children away from those streets with those wires,” he added.

Becker said the gasoline availability situation at borough stations was changing by the hour. Several stations were running out before noon Saturday, he reported. But that “makes it a little easier on us,” he said, since the odd-even license plate selling rule went into effect at 12.

With the stations out of fuel. “then we don’t have to go to people and say, ‘sorry, it’s now 12 o’clock, you have an even number and you have to get out of line.’ That was our nightmare, because it was going to cause a problem,” he said.

The Flemington-Raritan School District will remain closed on Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 5 and 6. Reading-Flemington Intermediate School was still without power on Saturday, Superintendent Gregory Nolan reported at the meeting. Barley Sheaf School got outs power back on Friday.

If all goes well, according a school statement, “we intend to open school in all six buildings on Wednesday, November 7, for a regular day of school.”

School will also be held on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 8 and 9. School was to be closed then for the annual teacher’s convention in Atlantic City, but that was canceled because of the storm.

All after-school activities, athletics and facility use events are cancelled this week.

Mayor Erica Edwards, who conducted the meeting, arranged for the people present to get coffee, bagels, even breakfast afterward at any of the eateries in town that were open. Her business card was handed out to the meeting attendees, and she said the borough will pay the bill.